On being recognized for the first time.

There I was taking a photo of I can’t even remember the name of this beach off the coast of the island of Chiloe, Chile. When suddenly someone asked “Are you Breakaway Backpacker?”

I said “Umm yes.” & couldn’t stop smiling & laughing.

—The photo I took right before I was asked.—

She started laughing too & then we chatted a bit and then she asked me why I had stopped writing. I told her I was back & planned on writing more this time around. I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling though… I just couldn’t believe it. That has never happened and am not gonna lie it feels pretty cool, but also felt strange though because I felt like she may know too much about me. I mean I honestly have shared things on here that I don’t even know how I have shared. I am also very honest on here and for some reason when she said she read my blog I loved it, but also felt a bit vulnerable. I felt like wow I know nothing about you, but how much of my blog have you read? What do you know about me?

I mean it was all so random… I was in Ancud, Chiloe and signed up to do a tour at the hostel to see the penguins. The tour was actually very nice, but would not recommend it if you are actually going to see penguins further south in Chile or Argentina. On this tour you only get to see them from far on a boat and honestly it is very nice and exciting to see but at the same time kind of not because the whole time you are left wanting more. It was my first time seeing penguins though so I was excited none the less. They were so cute just waddling around.

—This was the best photo I could get of them and it’s horrible…lol.—

—If I didn’t zoom all the way this was all I could get a photo of.—

—The reader who recognized me. Our smiles I love them.—

 —The tour include a mini tour of that side of the island and ended with this spectacular sunset.—

Anyway sorry for the tangent. She was staying at the same hostel as I and was there for 2 nights like I was so we spent the next two nights hanging out over drinks. I have met up with a few of my readers on the road and some have even offered me their home and to stay with them. I always find it interesting to meet my readers because I love hearing what they like or don’t like about my blog. I also always ask how they found my blog. And of course I also love getting to know them and find out more about the type of person they are. The ones I have met are also travelers at heart so we just click in the moment and can relate on many levels. This one though… this case just caught me off guard because I had never been recognized.

The crazy thing is I honestly never look at my statistics. I don’t even really know how. The few times I do look for them I end up just spending hours looking at the keywords people have searched and landed on my site. Trust me the XXX search terms that end up on my site are hilarious. So I honestly don’t know exactly how many people read my blog. Most of the time I feel like no one does anyway. I don’t even consider myself a successful travel blogger nor do I care to be one. I have been doing what I have been doing from day one… I am just being me, living life to the fullest and sharing it with all of you. To me that is what matters most and if you wanna follow along you can and if not fine with me too. By doing just that I know I have been able to inspire others to do the same and for me inspiring even one person is enough for me to keep being me and doing what I am doing.

When this is published I will be 29 years old… yeah February 24 is my birthday baby! Can’t believe my 20s are almost over. As I sit here writing this I’m happy with everything in my life expect one thing and feel like I have accomplished a lot for my age. I feel like for being 29 I have lived a successful, meaningful life. Success can be defined in many ways, for me success is not measured in degrees you have achieved, job title you have, salary you make or things you have acquired, but to be able to look at your life and know you lived it to the fullest and made the most of it to make sure you are happy and help others. I have done just that and hell I have even been recognized out of the blue along the way for doing just that. Pretty fucking awesome if you ask me.

To all of you that read my blog I know I have said this a million times but thanks again for doing so and well if you ever see me somewhere do tap me on the shoulder and introduce yourself to me! Also if you need anything you know you can email me and if I can help you I will help you.

The real question though is… Does this mean I have made it???